Friday, 29 August 2014

Kings and Queens - Stephen

Here's our next monarch all finished, this time it's Stephen...

Stephen
was the son of the Count of Blois and Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror.
He was sent to England to be raised at the court of his uncle, Henry I.After Henry I died in December 1135, the leading lords and
bishops welcomed Stephen as the new king as they weren’t comfortable with
Henry’s daughter Matilda being the ruler. Stephen was not a natural
leader.

In
1138 Robert, Earl of Gloucester, took up arms on Matilda’s behalf. Stephens
early victories faded when he lost the support of the church and Matilda
invaded England in September 1139. The tussle for the throne continued
until Stephen gained the upper hand and in 1148 Matilda left England.

Unfortunately
Stephen didn’t have much control over most of the kingdom and couldn’t enforce
the law or mediate between the warring nobles. He hoped to secure the
succession for his son Eustace. But Matilda’s son Henry invaded England in 1153
to claim his inheritance, Eustace died in August and under the Treaty of
Wallingford Stephen agreed that Henry should be his successor. Stephen died in
October 1154 and Henry then ascended the throne to become Henry II.